Is China The Next Key Influencer In The Middle East?

Saudi Arabia’s king Salman last week invited Beijing to take a more active part in Middle East politics and in response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it would be happy to act as mediator between Riyadh and Tehran – and this on top of preliminary investment deals with a potential total value of $65 billion. Just days after king Salman’s departure from China, Israel’s PM Netanyahu headed there, saying that “Israel is in high demand,” citing recent trips to Washington and Moscow. Ahead of the visit, China’s…

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Reuters/Lintao Zhang/POOLSaudi Arabia’s king Salman last week invited Beijing to take a more active part in Middle East politics and in response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it would be happy to act as mediator between Riyadh and Tehran – and this on top of preliminary investment deals with a potential total value of $65 billion.

Authored by Patrick Buchanan via Buchanan.org,
If the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has in mind a war with Iran, President Trump should disabuse his royal highness of any notion that America would be doing his fighting for him.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Donald Trump basked in Saudi Arabia’s lavish royal welcome Saturday as he left behind, at least temporarily, the snowballing controversies dogging him in Washington. Trump rewarded his hosts with a $110 billion arms package aimed at bolstering Saudi security and a slew of business agreements.
“That was a tremendous day, tremendous investments in the United States,” Trump said during a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman starts a month-long Asian tour on Sunday to build ties with the world's fastest growing importers of Saudi oil and promote investment opportunities, including the sale of a stake in its giant state firm Saudi Aramco. The octogenarian monarch, who has overseen the launch of an ambitious economic reform plan since his accession two years ago, is expected to visit Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and China.

While Congress is scrambling to sweep the recently introduced Bipartisan bill that would allow US families to sue Saudi Arabia for Sept 11, Barack Obama has just landed in Saudi Arabia to reassure his close ally that all is under control.
President Obama with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, center, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in May 2015